What If Fear Is The Default Setting?

One of my takeaways from this great article on the gulf between gun culture and anti-gun culture is how for some, a fear of guns is honorable and rational. How much of that has permeated into the mindset of the general public because media and society? We have TV shows and movies telling us that it’s honorable and correct to fear guns, so what are we doing to counter that fear?

Rational arguments have only limited efficacy against a fear-based argument: Fear is an emotion, and rational arguments only work against emotional ones after that fear has subsided. How do we calm the fear of guns?

People are used to temporarily facing their fears: That’s why roller coasters exist, and when they go to a range, they temporarily face (and conquer) their fear of guns. What are we doing to offset the “Disneyland effect” of going to the range or getting your CCW? It’s one thing to go and have fun and punch holes in paper, and it’s another thing to carry a gun all the time.

Acknowledging that the fear exists and then moving beyond the “thrill ride” of shooting a gun is where training is failing right now. Shoot N Scoot events, Outdoor Expos and GSSF matches are working, but more needs to happen if we want gun culture to move out and become a larger part of American culture than it already is.